Red Rose Girl
by Heart of Sunshine
Summary: She shone like a star in her plain farm dress, her only adornment a red rose, and Lyssan was captivated, because she was Kitty. His red rose girl. "You see her when you close your eyes; Maybe one day you'll understand why; Everything you touch surely dies." From 'Let Her Go' by Passenger. Caesar's Palace November Challenge.


"You see her when you close your eyes;

Maybe one day you'll understand why;

Everything you touch surely dies"

From 'Let Her Go' by Passenger

The boy stood by the window, rain pouring down outside. He pressed his forehead against the smooth glass, the cold surface slightly painful but relieving. Numbing. Washing his thoughts away.

Lyssan Fonze was tired of being the victor.

That's right. The victor, not a victor, the victor. Victor of the very first Hunger Games, now that's something to put on your record!

He'd killed his friends, now that was something to be proud of. His friends, not friend. He didn't just know his district partner. Four tributes, hear that, _four_ of them he had known since the beginning of the rebellion. When the grownups went off to war, the kids from all districts had been tossed into stone bunkers for months on end. He'd met the best people in the world there.

...

'Hi, I'm Seilide.' The little girl, ten years old, his age at the time, crawled over to him through the big tunnel. The grownups made the tunnel so the little kids like Lyssan would be safe, but it was also fun to play in.

'Hello. I'm Lyssan. Nice to meet you,' he said, gravely extending a thin hand for the little brown-haired girl to shake. She cocked her head to the side, smiled suddenly, and shook hands. 'Nice to meet you too, Lyssan.' She eyed him quizzically. 'You're from District Three, aren't you? I am.'

He looked down at his hand again. Pale and thin. He tapped his glasses and pulled a stray lock of hair down to his eye. Dark brown.

'Yes, I'm District Three. I see how you could tell. I share the common characteristics of District Three, I suppose.'

'And the vocabulary,' added another girl. A boy was following her. 'Hey there, I'm Silver from District One. This is Fin from District Four. We're going to join you.'

'Not even a please?' said Lyssan, clasping his hand to his heart in mock affront. 'Not even an if you don't mind?'

They giggled, and so did another girl behind them. She had tanned skin and rougher hands than the others, like she'd been handling a farm all her life. Her easily recognizable animal skin outfit marked her as District Ten.

'Hello! I'm Kitty. Nice to meet y'aaaaaall," she drawled, stretching her voice into a parody of her district accent. They giggled again. But the District Four boy, Fin, drew himself up to a pretty unimpressive height.

'We can't have everyone who wants to join us do so,' he sniffed, his pompous tone drawing a snicker from the others.

'Why don't you battle to prove your superiority,' Silver suggested, baring her teeth ferociously. 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' she said, her eager expression showing that she'd certainly take his place in a fight if it came to it.

Fin circled Kitty, and she rolled her eyes. 'Come on, Finny boy,' she said. 'You're a fish and I'm a bull. It all comes down to districts.'

'Which means Lyssan and I are...gears?' Seilide suggested. 'Brains? Glasses? There isn't any common animal in District Three besides humans.'

'Humans aren't- oh yeah. I knew that,' said Fin. Taking advantage of Fin's momentary embarrassment, Kitty jumped on him, knocking the surprised boy to the ground. He kicked upward, sending Kitty into Seilide, who miraculously caught her.

'Oof. Kitty, you are one heavy baby,' Seilide groaned.

'You still aren't putting her down,' Lyssan noted. 'It kind of looks like...'

'Kitty and Seilide, sitting in a tree,' said Silver very quietly, but just loud enough for Fin to hear. 'K-I-S-S-I-N-G!' he finished, smiling triumphantly despite his disheveled appearance.

The five children dissolved into giggles, even Seilide and Kitty.

That was how five inseparable friends were formed, friends who were finally broken apart in the first Hunger Games.

...

Lyssan shuddered, remembering their deaths. All caused, one way or another, by him.

Fin…well, Lyssan didn't know those berries were poisonous. He didn't know Fin would eat them without checking with Kitty, their resident plant expert.

Silver...poor little Silver. She had been caught in a Gamemaker trap, a volley of darts that shot out at her. She'd been in the front of the line where it hit, and just seconds before Lyssan had traded places with her. It could've been him. It should've been him.

Seilide…hers was awful. Lyssan had been practicing throwing knives, helping his aim, when she walked up behind him and startled him, making him accidentally stab her.

But then Kitty. Then there was her death. It was the worst of all. They'd actually been the final two together, best friends pitted directly against each other.

...

'I can't kill you, Kitty. I won't. I just will not kill you.' Lyssan stamped his foot, no more grown up at fifteen than as a child.

'Then we're at a standstill,' she replied. 'I'm not killing you.'

'Kitty, I killed Fin and Silver and Seilide. I don't deserve to live. Just do it. Kill me now.' He dropped his knife and fell to his knees. 'Kill me.'

'No! No, I can't. Let's...I don't know. Lyssan, what would they do if we both died?'

'Kill our families.'

'No!'

'They kill kids. What would stop them from killing families?'

'Lyssan...'

Tears flowed down her cheeks, cutting clear paths through the dirt. 'You're a great friend.'

'So are you, Kitty-kins,' he said quietly. 'Just finish me.' He spread his arms wide. 'Go home. Please. It's the best thing you could do.'

'I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'I'm going to have to leave you.'

'I know. Just make it quick.'

'This is going to hurt,' she muttered to herself, drawing her own knife out of her belt.

'I know, Kitty, make it quick for me.'

'No, _this_ is going to hurt.'

She put the knife to her throat, and Lyssan realized what she was really doing, but a second too late.

'No! Don't!' He lunged for the blade, but she stepped away and fixed him with a brave gaze, despite the tears. The gaze that captivated him, showed him that she wasn't just any District Ten farmgirl.

'I'll tell the others hi from you,' she said, and cut deep into her throat.

...

Lyssan still remembered her eyes. It had been months, but he still had an exact picture in his mind of the moment she did it, the pain and despair in her eyes, but also the pride. All he had to do was fall asleep, and she'd be there, an image of selflessness and bravery. An image of Kitty. Not just any Kitty. His Kitty. His maddening, infuriating, brave, prideful farmgirl, who had been the most beautiful girl in the world in her interview. She shone like a star in her plain farm dress, her only adornment a red rose, and Lyssan was captivated, because she was Kitty.

He wondered if she was happy right then.

He wondered if she was with the others.

He wondered if she was still watching him.

He looked out the window, and saw a star shining brightly, illuminating the darkness, glowing through the rain. He thought he saw a farmgirl with a red rose in her hair, and smiled for the first time since he was Reaped.

Lyssan wondered when he'd be with his red rose girl again, and how happy he could be when he did.

**So...this was my first contest entry. I based the characters off certain fanfiction friends I have, and I know they'll recognize themselves. This was sad and yet happy to write. Anyway, um...Hope I win!**

**Mockingjay out.**


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